


Human Touch

by Hardrada



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26954737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hardrada/pseuds/Hardrada
Summary: This one is just two lovely men who are in love and who are on a long, long leave before going into space again.  Nothing happens; they just have a good time.  They don’t deserve the angst I had in mind for them.
Relationships: James T. Kirk/Leonard "Bones" McCoy
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Human Touch

**Author's Note:**

> I actually had some major angst planned for this tale, but then I decided that these two gremlins were having such a good time, and were so helplessly happy that it would be wrong to then start giving them grief. So that one has to wait for another day. 
> 
> As ever, huge thanks for the comments and kudos. I appreciate them so much; it makes me happy that there are others out there loving this pair as much as I do. In a miserable world when all we have is each other, then it’s so nice to be able to turn to our dreams where at least we know there’ll always be a happy ending.

_Human Touch_

“All systems shut down, sir”. Sulu sat back in his seat and looked over his shoulder at his captain, his body weight shifting the chair around slightly so he gave the impression of swinging nonchalantly back and forth.

“Thank you, Mr Sulu”. Captain James Kirk nodded in acknowledgement and, unseen by his crew, tensed his muscles in a stretch. It had been a long six month stretch in space, and the final leg had been tense, an unexpected asteroid storm causing minor damage to the hull of the _Enterprise_ , but also briefly knocking out both sensors and communications. Thanks to the sheer skill and downright talent of the crew aboard the flagship, they had all been fixed, but going through an unknown asteroid field with no sensors had not been any fun at all, and a good deal of edge-of-the-seat flying had been called for.

But now they had safely docked on Earth, and the crew were due a break of a month or so, depending on how long it would take to service the _Enterprise_ and re-stock her. Then it would be back out for another two years. He had just made his final address to the crew before they all went their separate ways, thanking them for their exemplary behaviour, and ensuring them that each and every one was a valued member of the crew. There would be a party that night, as had become the tradition, and whilst a lot of the crew would attend, there would always be those who would be absent, for whatever reason - some had a long onward journey ahead, some were even heading off-planet again, to the various space stations where their loved ones were waiting for them, and some just didn’t wish to be there, having had enough of space, and enough of their colleagues, at least for a little while.

Jim stood up, surreptitiously tensing his numb backside. He had been clenching awfully hard during that trip through the asteroids. Ha, asteroids… He sighed. It had been a long trip…

“Thank you everyone”, he said, glancing around at each of the deck crew in turn. “As ever, you have been superb. Professional and calm under very trying circumstances. You have without a doubt earned your rest. I am very grateful for the work you have all put in to this voyage, and I hope you all enjoy your downtime. I look forward to seeing you at the _Enterprise_ family party later on; if you aren’t coming, then have a safe onward journey to wherever your trip ends, and we will all meet up again in a month. Again, thank you”. With a final general nod to the crew, he left the bridge and made his way to his ready room. He still had his final report to make, then his final tour of the _Enterprise_ when the crew had left. He loved to walk the empty corridors of his silver lady, wishing her well and thanking her for getting them safely home. He was never really alone on the ship of course; there was always a skeleton crew, and his First Officer wouldn’t leave until Jim himself did, and of course there was Bones, stuck in the medbay doing a stock take that could have been left to anybody else, but something else that he wouldn’t dream of not doing himself. In fact, if anybody else offered to do it, Bones would rip their face off. Metaphorically? Hmmm… debatable.

Jim sat at his desk, hands over his face as he ordered his thoughts before beginning his report. He had learned his lesson and never lied on a report, or omitted anything. Pike still read them carefully, and Jim just knew that he would pick up on anything that struck a false note. He mulled it over a little more, shifting his head about as he put the words in the correct order and then lowered his hands. He had just reached out to activate the recorder when his door gave that polite little ‘ding’ that always amused him.

“Come”, he called, knowing that this would only be one of three people. He laid a quick bet with himself as to who it would be, and would have won. “Mr Spock”.

“Captain”. Spock stood in front of Jim’s desk, hands behind his back. It had taken a while for Jim to realise that although Spock looked as if he were standing to attention, this was - just how he stood. Not one for sprawling on the floor with his feet on a chair seat, as Jim did when he was alone with Bones.

“Mr Spock”. Jim waited patiently. He had tried to indulge in small talk with Spock before now, but it had never gone well. All of Spock’s talk seemed to be large. He did wonder occasionally just how Uhura managed.

“The crew are now off-ship, and the maintenance crew is coming on board. I believe Dr McCoy is still in the medical bay and of course yourself”.

“Thank you, Mr Spock”, said Jim. “Please don’t feel you have to stay on board. I’m sure that you have other things planned for the downtime”.

“I believe that Lieutenant Uhura has planned various activities for us”, Spock said, deadpan. “She is a very organised person”.

“No argument from me”, answered Jim. “Well, I hope to see you at the get-together later. But I have the final report to compose and send to Starfleet, so if there is nothing specific?”

“I do not believe so, sir. Simply a final report for this journey that everything is under control and that we have now officially concluded our mission. The ship has been handed over to the ground crew”.

“Thank you”, Jim said again, wishing him gone. Spock did this - he wouldn’t get himself gone. Jim wanted him gone, wanted everybody gone. He had this triple-damned report to get out and he wanted to take farewell of his ship in his own way, wanted to wander her corridors alone. What he did not want was Spock hanging around. He looked again at his First Officer. “This trip has gone well, Mr Spock. The crew are really coming together as a team”. He as actually running out of things to say. This happened as well; he finished a tour and he just wanted to retreat into himself. He didn’t want to speak, didn’t want to interact. He needed to be with Bones, just the two of them. Normally he would be able to hold a conversation with Spock, but not at the end of a mission, never then.

Finally, Spock took his leave, and Jim heaved a sigh of relief, turning once again to his report. He had just about got his words in the correct order and so with a deep breath, he began, fingers crossed that he wouldn’t be disturbed until he was done with it.

__

The medical bay was chaotic, there was no other word for it. Boxes of goods and medicines were strewn on every surface and Bones stood in the middle of it all, scowling around generally with nothing specific for his annoyance to focus on. He had sent all of the medical staff away as he absolutely refused to let anybody else do this, and it was usually at this point that he began to regret it. He glanced at the chrono on the wall and scowled even more. He was never going to get finished at this rate and would undoubtedly still be here when it was time to begin their next mission.

“Dammit”, he muttered, bending down to pick up yet another box, feeling a twinge in his back as he stood up again. Fantastic. On top of everything else, he was now going to put his back out and spend the tiny amount of free time he would manage to get lying flat on the floor. Just superb.

“Dammitall”, he clarified and heaved the box into the cupboard nearest to him. “Dammitall. I’m a doctor, not a navvy”.

“Navvy?” The voice was deep and amused, and as ever it triggered something in Bones’ hind brain and he smiled. “Where do you find these words? What part of your brain stores them?”

“Words are important”, he said, wiping his forehead, still not turning round. “And yes, navvy. I am not one”.

“Ooookay”. Behind him, Jim pushed off from the wall on which he had been leaning and picked his way across the room. “Want a hand?”

Jim was the only one who was allowed to meddle in Bones’ stock take, and although nothing was said, Jim began to shoulder the boxes and shove them into cupboards. He may have looked as if he had no system but it was far from the case: Jim knew what Bones liked when it came to his sick bay and knew how to achieve the desired result and quickly.

“What it is to be young”, Bones remarked at one point as Jim picked up two boxes together.

“Oh stop it”, Jim said, amused. “You act like you’re in your dotage sometimes”.

“I’m surrounded by children”, Bones retorted, pulling himself onto a trolley so that he could watch Jim work. Well, actually so he could watch Jim’s ass - yes, he may be in his dotage but his momma didn’t raise no fool. And that ass deserved watching. Plus, you know, Jim doing manual work. A win/win on the McCoy Gratification Scale.

“You are not surrounded by children”. Jim put the final box in the final cupboard and slammed it closed with - well, finality. “You are surrounded by people who may be somewhat younger than you, although some are only slightly older, and Spock is - well, who knows?” He turned around and smiled at Bones. “And don’t think I don’t know what’s going through your filthy mind right now. Honestly, I don’t understand how you keep up your reputation of being grumpy all the time. You have the filthiest mind of anybody I’ve ever known, and that smile that’s on your face now?” Jim moved across the lab to him and pushed his thighs apart settling between them and wrapping his arms around Bones’ waist. “That smile will get me every time, every day, for the rest of my life”.

“Just this smile?” Bones returned the embrace, lowering his head to breathe in Jim’s scent - sweat and cologne and _Jim._ How the hell had he survived for thirty years without this?

“Yeah, just the smile”. Jim’s voice was muffled against Bones’ shoulder. “That smile is pretty much all I need”.

They stayed like that for a long moment, then Bones kissed Jim’s hair. “You said your goodbyes?”

“Yeah”. Jim nodded against Bones’ shoulder. “We’re ready to leave I reckon”.

Bones slid off the trolley and, keeping one arm firmly around Jim’s waist steered him out of the medbay. The corridors stretching ahead of them were empty, echoing to their footsteps. But the ship herself was never quiet; she always hummed with power, even with her systems shut down. Jim had always said that she was straining at her bonds, desperate to get back to her home in the stars. Jim was a romantic fool, sometimes.

“You can feel it, can’t you?” Jim smiled at Bones, that mind-reading thing going at full throttle. “She just wants to go home”.

“Well, for a little while this is her home”, Bones responded. “And it’s mine, too”.

“Not mine”, Jim said. “Child of the stars, that’s me. That’s what it says in the Starfleet bio anyway”. He squeezed Bones’ waist “Not saying it, but you know what I’m thinking”.

Bones, relaxing more with each second, laughed softly. He knew what Jim was refusing to say. He really was hopeless. They both hid their true natures from almost everybody else, he mused. It was probably why they had ended up together.

“What you thinking?” The psychic bond had clearly broken. “Thinking ‘bout me?”

“Always am, love”. Jim laughed out loud at that, releasing Bones’ waist and grabbing his hand instead. Clearly, the holiday mood was beginning to infect them.

“God, Bones, a whole month”. Jim laughed again, feeling the weight of the captaincy, the weight of responsibility easing from his shoulders. He was back to just being a young man who was about to enjoy a long holiday with his husband, whom he loved to an absurd extent. Their first holiday as an official married couple. Quite why that should make it any different defeated Jim, but there you have it; it did. He felt like he could actually feel himself getting younger, standing up straighter.

“I really need to get out of this uniform”, he said, tugging at the gold shirt.

“Oh, excellent idea”, Bones said readily. “I could help you with that”.

“Counting on it”, Jim said seriously. “We’ll be at the apartment soon”. He touched the wall of the ship nearest to him. “She’s deserves her rest and so do we”.

__

They were staying in the city for the first ten days or so. This had been earmarked as the cultural part of the holiday; sightseeing, live theatre, museums, people watching at the outdoor cafes and restaurants. The second part was going to be in the backwoods and involve hiking and a lot of plaid. Bones was already looking forward to that. Although there was absolutely nothing wrong with sitting in a cafe and watching Jim watch people, because that was pretty much how it would turn out.

The apartment was in a Starfleet owned building, and as the captain of the flagship, Jim was entitled to one of the best in the building. Add to that the fact that he was married to the CMO of that same flagship, and the apartment that was revealed when the door swung open was just about the most luxurious thing either of them had ever seen.

“Wow!” Jim stood on the threshold, mouth open in amazement. “I have never in my entire life seen anything so fucking tasteless”. He leered at Bones. “Wanna see the bedroom?”

“Not if it’s like this”, Bones responded. “Do you want me to carry you over the threshold?”

“Not with your back”, Jim replied absently, still gazing in wonder at the sheer awfulness on display in front of him and trying to work out why it was so horrible. Other than the colour of course; other than that, it was actually bland to the point of eye-watering. But it had been decorated by someone who thought mauve was a really attractive colour. It was like being stuck inside an old lady’s blue rinse.

“Standing out here ain’t gonna make it any better”, Bones declared. “You first”. He gave Jim a hefty shove and sent him staggering into the room. “Dear god, this colour makes you look like the undead”, he said as he entered the room. “You look like you have a really bad case of the Gollnarian clap”.

“Smooth talker”. Jim laughed and took a slow step forward. The flooring, although technically still mauve, was just enough of a different shade to really hurt. “Let’s go look at the bedroom”. He paused. “If it’s mauve, the blinds are staying shut permanently. I’m in danger of going blind here”.

“Tomorrow we’ll look for something else”, Bones said soothingly. “It’s too late now and I’m tired. Sound good?”

“Sounds good”. Jim finally turned around and smiled, holding his arms wide. 

“Jesus”, said Bones almost reverently. “You look about twenty years old”.

Jim smiled again, but such a different smile. A smile full of softness and affection. Only Bones saw that, and even then not very often, because it was a smile that an exhausted man weighed down by responsibility was totally unable to produce. “Hey”.

“Hey”. Bones closed the door and padded his own way across the mauve monstrosity, straight into Jim’s arms. As ever, that wonderful sensation of coming home, of their being nowhere else that he would ever want or need to be. 

“Okay?” Jim spoke so quietly that the words were felt more than heard.

“I am now”, he said. “And I’ll be even better in a second”. He pulled back and wrapped his hands in Jim’s hair. Jim had just enough time to begin to smile before Bones kissed him, pouring just about everything he had into it, making Jim purr his pleasure. He pulled away and trailed his lips down the length of Jim’s neck, and Jim’s hands clenched hard into Bones’ shirt, pulling at the fabric. “Take it off”, he muttered. “Take this off. Want to see you”.

“Mauve’s not my best colour”, Bones said, his lips still against Jim’s neck. Dear god, he loved Jim’s neck. If ever he were forced to list his favourite erogenous zones, then Jim’s neck would be right up there. He bit down hard in the sensitive place where neck became shoulder, and Jim literally jumped and pressed closer.

“I’m colour blind to mauve, I’ve just decided”, he panted. He tore himself away, pupils massively dilated, and pulled Bones towards one of the closed doors. “Now, where’s the fucking bedroom?”

It was the second door he opened, and they both laughed breathlessly at the continuing theme. Fortunately, once the mauve comforter had been pushed aside, the sheets were revealed as crisp and white and inoffensive. Bones dropped onto the bed and pulled Jim with him so that the were lying side by side, kissing long and deep, hands slowly moving over each other’s bodies. Deftly, Jim unfastened Bones’ shirt, pushing it off his shoulders and began to kiss his way down the warm flesh, revelling in the way the muscles rippled as Bones arched into the touch. He reached up with one hand and Bones met him halfway, tangling their fingers together and squeezing hard. Jim pulled himself back up Bones’ body until he was lying on him.

“Still got way too many clothes on”, Bones said.

“So deal with it”. 

“Oh, getting all demanding on me?” Bones quirked a half smile. “You’re not the captain now, you know. Didn’t you promise to obey me in those vows we made?”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous”, Jim said, grinning his big sunshine grin, the one that lit up the world as far as Bones was concerned. “How likely is it that I would make that kind of rookie mistake?”

“And even if you did say it, you wouldn’t mean it”, Bones grumped, and Jim leaned down and kissed him.

“Oh I would”, Jim assured him. “But I would use the power of my obedience selectively”. He leaned down and kissed Bones again, slow and full of promise. “If you’re lucky I could be in the mood for a bit of obedience tonight…”

“What? Oh. Oh!” Bones laughed and rolled until he had Jim trapped underneath him. Still way too many clothes, but nothing that couldn’t be dealt with. After all, he was a doctor, dammit.

__

Bones woke first, startled at the unfamiliar surroundings. It took him a few seconds to remember where they were, but then he sighed and relaxed back into the pillows. The room was flooded with soft ambient light from outside, and fortunately the mauve colour scheme was impossible to see; the room was full of shades of grey and shadow. He turned his head to look at his husband, flat out asleep next to him. There wasn’t a whole lot to see actually; he had rolled away and buried himself in the blankets so all that was visible was the top of his tousled head. It made Bones smile because it was a proper restful sleep. He dropped a soft kiss on that tousled head and slid from the bed. He was absolutely starving. He hadn’t eaten since the previous morning’s hurried breakfast and he could frankly eat a mountain goat between two pieces of bread and call it a sandwich. Now where was the damn replicator in this monstrosity of an apartment? He stood up and winced as pulled muscles and - soreness - made themselves known. He scowled to hide the smirk of sheer satisfaction. That had been quite the session. A thought struck him and he quickly moved around until he could see Jim’s face - well, his forehead anyway. Very gently, he moved the blankets down and down a bit further until he could see the bite marks on Jim’s neck and shoulders. He knew there would be bruises on his wrists as well, and he winced, guilt hovering on the edges.

“Don’t feel bad”. Jim’s voice was low and full of sleep. “I loved every damn second of that. Told you that when I chose to obey, I’d really obey”. He smirked, even though he was still mostly asleep, and Bones kissed him on the forehead.

“You are fucking superb”, he whispered. “Just fucking superb”.

“No slouch yourself”. Jim was coming closer and closer to wakefulness, and Bones knew that he should leave him, let him slide back into sleep, but he wanted Jim awake, wanted to know that he was really okay.

After another few moments Jim sighed and stretched, wincing in his turn as his own muscles recalled the activities of the past few hours, and he finally opened his eyes, lambent in the reflected light. “That was fucking sensational”, he whispered, hooking an arm around Bones’ neck and pulling him down onto the bed, warm and full of sleep and comfort, and Bones let himself relax, kissing him again, soft and sweet.

“Hungry?” he said finally. “It’s time we ate something”. Jim smirked and Bones ignored it.

“I am”, he said. “We’re on Earth, I want Earth food”. He pushed himself up in the bed and ran his hands through his hair. It made no difference. “Do we know where the kitchen is?”

“Don’t even know if there is one in this damn monstrosity of a place”, Bones answered. “If not we can go out somewhere. It’s late, but there’ll be plenty of places open”.

“I’d like that”, Jim said. “I’d like to go out. Let’s have a shower - a proper shower - and then go out”.

“I need to fix those marks first”, Bones said, gesturing to Jim’s neck. 

“No you don’t”, Jim answered. “Leave them until tomorrow. I want everybody to see them”. He smiled and put his hand against Bones’ cheek. “Because they can see them now. I don’t have to pretend”. He smiled again. “I never thought I would feel this free. It’s weird”.

“You’ve spent a lot of time being the responsible one”, Bones said. “And you were very young and inexperienced. It’s been fucking tough on you, and don’t forget that. You’re way too hard on yourself sometimes. It’s time you had the chance to just be you for a while. You’ll be missing it soon enough and desperate to go back. Let’s just enjoy however long we’ve got before you start bitching and moaning about wanting to go back”.

They found a little diner in a back street not far from the base, the kind of all night greasy place where hard working ground crew went at all hours to eat carbohydrate-heavy real food to keep them going through their long shifts. Jim and Bones were recognised of course. After all, they were Starfleet’s golden couple, but knowing looks aside, they were left alone to slide into one of the booths. Jim was beyond charmed by the sight of a proper menu, spotted with grease and nameless detritus.

“The place is a health hazard”, Bones groused, studying minutely the cutlery they were handed. “If you get sick after eating here, don’t blame me”.

“Oh, don’t fuss”. Jim waved a hand airily. “They don’t serve anything I’m allergic to, and even if they did, you wouldn’t let me eat it, and even if I did, you’re not telling me you don’t have a half dozen hypos secreted about your person, just ready to stab me back into consciousness”. Jim smiled. “How can you go from - what happened in bed - to fusspot? You’re awful complex, my friend”.

Bones had become transfixed over the fact that the very tips of Jim’s ears had turned pink at the mention of what had happened earlier. His eyes wandered down to the neck of Jim’s shirt, where the bruises could still be seen, and unconsciously he licked his lips.

“You dirty old man”, Jim said, surprised into a laugh. “I can see exactly what you’re thinking about”.

“Shut up”, Bones said, rising above the sheer immaturity of his comment. He picked up the menu and began to read it, feeling his own ears burning, and the two men sat in delighted silence and pretended great interest in just how many ways you could prepare eggs.

__

The city at night felt so different. After their meal they walked for miles, talking about nothing, just enjoying being together. Even their silences were comfortable and lasted for long periods of time.

They didn’t get back to the apartment until dawn was breaking. Jim flatly refused to spend another moment in the “godawful hell hole” and after flinging their few belongings into a holdall, he walked out without a backward glance. Bones, caught somewhat on the hop by what could only be described as Jim’s flounce, followed him a few minutes later.

“Where do you want to go?” he asked.

“Any hotel, even another Starfleet apartment, but just not that mauve monstrosity. Honestly I couldn’t stand it”.

“With you on that one”, Bones agreed fervently. “What a thing to inflict on VIPs”.

“If that’s what they do to VIPs, then pray that we’re never classed as one”, Jim said fervently.

“Too late, I reckon”.

Jim made a rude noise, and Bones just laughed.

“Been thinking about this whole golden couple thing”, Bones said conversationally a few minutes later as they wandered somewhat aimlessly through the streets. “There must be some positives from it, surely?”

“Like what?” Jim asked. “You just get hauled out at public occasions and paraded like a - prize heifer - as they show how not only is Federation life Exciting and Thrilling, but you also get to meet the love of your life there”. He shrugged. “Not everybody is as lucky as we were, my Bones. Without you, I would have been out of an airlock by now, and that’s no lie”.

Bones knew that perfectly well. The wild child he had met all those years ago would never have made it this far. He had been so hell bent on his own destruction that he would have happily thrown himself into every dangerous situation he could find. And although the wild child was still there, it had been diverted into a wild imagination and an ability to think one step ahead of the enemy. But without Bones by his side, Jim would have been finished before he had even started. That was all just known and accepted. They had talked about it late at night, which was the only time to have that kind of conversation. There was no need to rehash everything.

“Goes both ways”, was all Bones said, and squeezed Jim’s hand. 

Jim smiled slightly and looked at Bones, kitten blinking at him. Then his eyes widened, and he swung the hand with the holdall around as he tried to point and only succeeded in nearly concussing Bones.

“Sorry”, he said automatically. “But that looks nice. Hotel. Glass. Not mauve. Want”.

“Infant”. Bones obediently looked towards the hotel Jim was indicating and had to agree that it did look the part. Clean lines, modern, sleek. No mauve. He hauled Jim over and they went to book a room.

__

“This is better!” Jim threw the holdall in the general direction of the enormous bed and went and gazed out at the view through the floor to ceiling windows. They had a room at the top of the hotel and Jim was childishly delighted to see that they were actually very slightly above the cloud-line. He could almost reach out and touch the stars. “This is actually gorgeous”. He smiled as Bones moved to stand behind him, and happily leaned back into his embrace. “This is what I wanted”.

“Same”, Bones agreed. “This is nice”. They stood quietly for a few moments before Jim pulled away.

“Okay”, he announced. “Let’s start this downtime again. Let’s go and do cultural shit”.

Bones laughed out loud, the sound startled from him by Jim’s casual remark, and together they left the room. Cultural shit it was.

__

The next few days passed in pretty much doing nothing. They did the ‘cultural shit’, and Jim stood back and smiled indulgently as he watched Bones exclaim in wonder and disgust at the old medical instruments when they visited the museum. “Dammit, Jim, these people were barbarians!” He was wielding a vicious looking implement at that point in a very - enthusiastic - fashion, and Jim began to look for a way out. When he got involved in something, Bones had been known to accidentally damage people and things. He just got a bit carried away sometimes. One of the many things Jim loved about him. Even with everything he had been through, he had never lost that little boy’s love of discovery. Jim had often wished he had known Bones as a child. They had so much now, but there were so many years when they hadn’t known each other, and they had missed so much because of that. He had said that once, and Bones had pointed out in his most patronising fashion, that he had a good decade on Jim and so if they had grown up together it would have been weird. Minor point.

Finally Bones had torn himself away from the torture instruments with a satisfied smile, and they had gone for a long and luxurious dinner at the fanciest restaurant they could find, just because they could.

Another day, this time to please Jim, they had gone to a display of vintage cars, some of which dated right back to the early 20th century. This time it had been Bones’ turn to stand back at watch Jim as he drooled over the Packards and the Bentleys, his hands running over the sleek bodies in a way that was positively possessive.

“When we’re done with Starfleet, shall we do this?” Bones asked as Jim surfaced at one point, glassy eyed with lust. “Shall we collect these cars so that you can work on them? We could travel all the worlds looking for them so that we could bring them home for you”.

“And what about you?” Jim asked. “What would you do?”

“I’d be the local doctor of course. I’m never going to give up working, you know that”.

“I know”. Jim’s eyes were full of affection. “We’ll have to find a little town somewhere so that you can be the pillar of the community”. His eyes slid sideways and locked on something. “Oh good lord…” He wandered off again, drooling slightly, and Bones lost sight of him.

They tried the live theatre, but Jim didn’t have the patience for it, and Bones thought that it was the most pretentious drivel he had ever had to sit through, and so they made their escape at the interval, laughing like children escaping a particularly onerous lesson, and darted into the nearest bar, which turned out to have live music played by a band who were so incredible that they stayed there until closing time, occasionally taking advantage of the slower numbers to dance together under the soft lighting, kissing and touching, full of promises for the night ahead.

It was fantastic. It was everything that they had hoped for and a bit more. By the end of the first week, they were both more relaxed than they had ever been in their lives, but also beginning to itch for a little more activity.

“Shall we cut this bit short?” Jim asked outright one morning as he lay in Bones’ arms in the room at the top of the world. “Do you want to go to the cottage today?”

“That would be nice”, Bones admitted. “I’ve loved this, but don’t know about another week”.

“You’ll be climbing the walls by then”, Jim said, fingers trailing across Bones’ chest, and down towards his hip. “And I’ll be running round in circles. We’re not made to do nothing”.

“Okay, let’s go. I feel the need to see you in plaid”.

“What is it with you? It’s fucking plaid, Bones. Does the word just really amuse you or something?”

Bones rolled over and trapped Jim underneath him. “Or something”, he said with the wickedest gleam in his eye. Jim laughed in pure delight and reached for him.

__

“Jesus, this is beautiful!” The words were forced out of Bones’ mouth without him even realising that he had been about to speak.

Jim smiled at Bones’ unalloyed delight. This was the part of the break that he had organised, and he was so pleased that he had clearly got it right. Bones’ happiness was so important to him.

The cottage was tiny and shabby, with only two others in the clearing which was reached along a cleared path through thick woods. It was incredibly quiet with the silence of age as the trees leaned over them, just the leaves whispering as they spoke to each other about the newcomers.

“Jim, this is beautiful!” Bones turned to Jim, his eyes shining with delight, and pulled him into a hug. “I would say that I feel the need to start chopping wood, but the thought of you anywhere near an axe makes my eyes water. Tell me there’s a log fire?”

“Come and see”. Jim took a final step into the clearing. “We don’t have neighbours, I rented all three cottages to make sure we were on our own. Let’s go see”.

He had picked up their key at the reception which was a good twenty minute walk down the path. They really were isolated here, which was what they had both wanted. The key turned smoothly and Jim pushed the door open. “Again”, he said, holding up a hand. “No carrying across the threshold. Fuck, this is gorgeous”. He looked around at the furniture which seemed to have been hand carved, the beams across the ceiling and - yes! - a wood burning stove. Unfortunately no bearskin rug so they couldn’t quite indulge in all the cliches, but Jim felt that they were both inventive enough to work something out. Maybe Bones could shoot something. Or maybe not.

“You’ve done really well here”. Bones’ voice was a low growl, his breath warm on Jim’s neck. “And if I get sick of you I can always move next door”.

“Feel free to go now” , Jim answered, grinning like a fool.

“Bet this place has a kitchen”, Bones said, pulling away and aiming for one of the open doors, drawn like a magnet. “We have to shop. You could have sorted that out”.

“I did. Would I dare not?” Supplies are all in there. As a reward I want a decent home-cooked meal”. He smiled slyly. “If you do that I’ll put the plaid on”.

“I’ll only take it off you again before you have time to warm up”, Bones commented in such a matter-of-fact way that Jim hardly registered his words.

__

They went out that afternoon and simply walked. They were both basically country boys, although the woods were new to both of them. Jim fell over an exposed root, much to Bones’ exasperation (“Jesus, Jim, it was right there! It’s not like it just jumped out at you when you weren’t looking”), but then he fell over one as well and Jim laughed until he cried.

__

The next morning, Bones’ ankle had swollen up to twice its normal size and when Jim accidentally kicked it as he climbed over him to get out of bed, he yelped. It was such a strange sound that Jim actually froze, wide-eyed and unsure until Bones said through gritted teeth, “Get off me, will you? Jesus, get off!”

Jim flipped himself out of bed and in the same movement dragged the blankets down, wincing at the sight of Bones’ ankle. “Jesus, that looks so painful”.

“It is. And even more when you sit on it”.

“What can I do? Jim’s hands fluttered over the injured limb. “Tell me”.

“Cold compress and the portable regen”, Bones said.

“Oh, of course you brought that”, Jim said, rolling his eyes. 

“Well I’m with you”, Bones retorted “Of course I fucking did”.

“Well, it’s not me who needs it now, is it?”

“Is this really the time to be arguing?” Bones yelled. “Get me the fucking regen!”

Jim opened his mouth to carry on the argument and then shut it again. He enjoyed a good argument, but this wasn’t the time. Bones needed his help, and there were better times to argue than this. Obediently, if somewhat delayed, Jim trotted over to Bones’ luggage and rummaged until he found the regen. Dropping it on the bed, he then made his way to the kitchen and dug in the machine for some ice which he wrapped in his shirt, which he had left hanging over the chair.

Back in the bedroom, Jim dumped the shirt directly onto Bones’ foot, making him yelp again. This time, Jim grinned evilly and leaned over to kiss his forehead.

“Sorry”, he said unapologetically, and climbed back onto the bed, wrapping an arm around Bones’ shoulders. “Anything else?”

“That is the shittiest bedside manner I have ever seen”, Bones said.

“That’s saying something coming from you”, Jim retorted. “You once pushed me off a bio bed if you care to remember”.

“You were twenty years old and being a dick”, Bones retorted. “At that age, I knew you’d bounce”.

Jim laughed. “Bastard”. He hugged Bones close again and they sat and watched the ice pack. It didn’t do much. Just - melted.

“Maybe you should put the regen on it?” Jim suggested after a minute. 

“I’m going to. But this feels weirdly nice. Old fashioned cure, but I quite like it”.

“You’re not going to make me try it”, Jim said. “Don’t think you can double-talk me”.

Bones smirked. “Worth a try. Get this fucking soaking thing off my foot and let me use the technology on it”.

Jim shifted the ice pack off the bed with his foot and made a mental note to clear it up before he actually got out of bed and put his foot right in the damp patch, and Bones rigged up the regen.

“Won’t take long”, he said, settling down, letting his head drop onto Jim’s shoulder. “You got anything to do today?”

“Nah”. Jim shook his head. “Just wait here for you”. He paused and kissed the top of Bones’ head. “Although…”

“Although what?”

“Well, just while we’re waiting for you to get fixed up…”

“What, Jim?” Bones tried to raise his head, but Jim’s arm was firmly around his neck, practically immobilising him.

“I could always put the plaid on”.


End file.
